For many of us, work is a necessary and vital part of our lives. The development and/or progression of chronic illness can make it difficult or impossible to work, which can impact finances, social roles and relationships, and notions of self-worth. In their 1978 essay entitled “The social and economic costs of end-stage renal disease,”1 James and Anne Campbell describe the substantial toll that James’ kidney failure took on the couple’s finances and careers along with the large amount of hidden work involved in accessing public assistance.